Combination beverage carrier, board game and method of play

ABSTRACT

A combination beverage carrier and board game includes a beverage carrier having a plurality of outside facing walls, and multiple storage chambers for receiving beverages. The carrier transitions between an upright orientation for storing the beverages and a flat orientation for game play. Manufacturer indicia can be imprinted along the front facing wall of the main body, and game indicia that includes a board game can be imprinted along the rear facing wall of the main body. A game board extension is imprinted along the bottom wall of the main body; both the game and the game extension are aligned to form a single playing surface when the carrier is in the flat orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/041,222 filed on Aug. 25, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to beverage carriers and games, and more particularly to a beverage carrier that can transform into a board game utilizing portions of the beverages as game pieces.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Beverages such as beer, soda and the like are sold in stores all over the world. When purchasing multiple beverages, such as a six pack, a twelve pack, or a twenty-four pack, for example, it is most common for the beverages to be sold while enclosed within some type of beverage carrier/container. To this end, each of these carriers are typically constructed from a lightweight material such as cardboard, for example, and generally include advertising or other such information imprinted on the outside surface thereof. Once the consumer has removed the beverages from the carrier, the same is often immediately deposited into a garbage receptacle, where it is sent to a landfill or other type of waste processing facility.

With particular regard to the adult beverage industry, the best-selling item at most consumer outlet stores includes six-packs of bottled beer. Such items are often consumed at parties or other social events wherein groups of friends and acquaintances gather to share stories and spend time together. At such gatherings, it is common for the participants to play games such as board games, drinking games and/or games of skill, for example. However, the majority of such games are well known to all participants, and there always seems to be a lack of new games available to play.

Accordingly, it would be beneficial to incorporate one or more novel games onto a beverage container, so as to provide consumers with an unlimited number of new and unique gaming experiences, while also prolonging the lifespan of the beverage container and preventing waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a combination beverage carrier and board game. One embodiment of the present invention can include a beverage carrier having a plurality of outside facing walls, and multiple storage chambers for receiving beverages. The carrier can transition between an upright orientation for storing the beverages, and a flat orientation for playing a game. The outside walls can include various types of indicia such as manufacturer indicia and game indicia. Each beverage contained within the storage chambers can include a game token for utilization with the game indicia.

In one embodiment, the game indicia can include a board game that is imprinted along the back facing wall of the main body, and a plurality of rules that are imprinted along one of the sides of the main body. The board game can extend to the bottom surface of the main body, and the bottom and back facing walls of the main body can be aligned to form a single playing surface when the carrier is in the flat orientation.

Another embodiment of the present invention can include a punch out game dice, and the chambers can be removable in nature.

This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus that is useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a back side view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5A is a partial side view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5B is another partial side view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus in operation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.

Identical reference numerals are used for like elements of the invention or elements of like function. For the sake of clarity, only those reference numerals are shown in the individual figures which are necessary for the description of the respective figure. For purposes of this description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1.

Although illustrated below with respect to a six pack carrier for bottled beverages, this is to illustrate but one possible implementation of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. To this end, the inventive concepts are not to be construed as limiting to any particular shape of carrier, number of beverages, or type of beverages, as the concepts can also be applied to canned beverages of any quantity and/or drink-box beverage holders and packages, for example.

FIGS. 1-6 illustrate one embodiment of a combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus 10 for enhancing a party by providing a beverage carrier 20 that is convertible into a board game so that the carrier has a dual use capability of: storing/carrying multiple beverages 11, and conversion of the empty carrier into a flat board game playing surface.

In its first position, the beverage carrier 20 can function to securely hold any number of beverages, so as to allow a user to easily carry the beverages from one location to another. In the illustrated embodiment, the beverage carrier 20 can include a six-pack bottle carrier having a centrally located handle section 21, and a plurality of individual beverage storage chambers 22 that are bound by an outside body having a front facing wall 23 a, rear facing wall 23 b, side walls 23 c and 23 d, and bottom wall 23 e. As should be apparent, each of the side and bottom walls 23 c, 23 d and 23 e can include substantially identical half-sections which, when the device is folded flat (See FIG. 6), allow half of each wall to face upwards, and the other half to face downward. The carrier 20 is preferably constructed from a lightweight, semi-flexible material such as cardboard, for example, however any number of other construction materials are also contemplated.

As shown in FIG. 2, one preferred embodiment of the apparatus includes a plurality of beverages 11, each of which including a bottle cap 12 that can be used as a game token for playing the below described board game. In this regard, each bottle cap can include any type of indicia such as a unique symbol, for example, to allow multiple individuals to play the game at once.

In addition to the above, portions of the beverage carrier can also be imprinted with any type of indicia, along both the inside and/or outside facing surfaces. Indicia can include, for example, various decorative elements such as colors, markings, words, shapes, symbols, logos, designs, lights, types of materials, texturing of materials, patterns, images, lithographs, and/or photographs. Indicia can be secured onto and/or into the described components in accordance with known techniques so as to be flush with the surface thereof, or can be raised/protruding outward therefrom, so as to give a three dimensional effect.

In one embodiment, the carrier 20 can include manufacturer indicia 15, to indicate commercially necessary information, such as the name of the product, the manufacturer of the product and/or regulatory information such as ingredients and the like. This information can preferably be imprinted along the front and/or side facing surface(s) of the carrier 20, and can aid a user in selecting an appropriate beverage from a consumer location.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carrier 20 can also include game indicia, such as a board game 30, for example, which can be imprinted along an entirety of the back surface 23 b of the carrier. In various embodiments, additional game indicia can be provided on other surfaces of the carrier such as the bottom wall 23 e and/or the side walls 23 c and 23 d, for example. The additional game indicia can be provided as an extension of the board game 31, and/or as a listing of game rules 32, for example. As described herein, the board game 30 and/or 31 can include any type of game which can be played by one or more persons. The game itself can be a known game such as checkers, for example, or can be a new game that is unique to the apparatus 10.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, one embodiment of the apparatus can further include one or more detachable game pieces, such as a punch-out game dice 50. As shown, the dice 50 can integrally adjoined along one wall of the carrier 23 d, for example, and can be punched out along perforations for removal and use. Once removed, the dice 50 can be folded into a cube for use in game play. Of course, any number of other removable game pieces such as circular checker game playing pieces, for example, can be provided along any surface of the carrier. In either instance, the detachable game pieces can be used in combination with the board game, and are not limited to any particular shape, size or markings.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of the apparatus 10 in operation as a board game utilizing the dice 50 and the bottle caps 12 as game tokens. As shown, the carrier 20 can be folded flat so as to unify the game sections 30-32 into a single board game having a large flat playing surface. In the illustrated embodiment, each player can move their token 12 along the game board, based on a throw of the dice 50, and the rules 32. The player(s) can begin at the start line 61 located along the bottom wall 23 e, and the first player to cross the finish line 62 on the rear wall 23 b wins the game. Of course, any number of additional rules and/or game steps can also be provided, such as sipping the beverage(s) 11 upon the occurrence of an event on the game board.

In one embodiment, the carrier 20 can simply be folded by a user to achieve the illustrated flat orientation. Alternatively, the carrier 20 can be constructed wherein each of the chambers 22 can be removed from the walls 23 a-23 e of the body, in accordance with known manufacturing techniques. By physically removing the chambers 22, and subsequently folding the carrier into the orientation shown in FIG. 6, the carrier can be transformed into a fully flat game board for easy play by any number of individuals.

As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A combination beverage carrier and board game apparatus, comprising: a beverage carrier that includes a plurality of storage chambers that are bound by a main body section having a front facing wall, a rear facing wall, a bottom wall, and a pair of side walls; at least one manufacturer indicia that is disposed along the front facing wall; a game indicia that is disposed along the rear facing wall; and a plurality of beverages that are disposed within the plurality of storage chambers, each of said beverages including a game token disposed thereon; wherein said beverage carrier is configured to transform between an upright orientation and a flat orientation.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the game indicia includes a board game, and is disposed along an entirety of the rear facing wall.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: additional game indicia that is disposed along one of the side walls.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: additional game indicia that is disposed along the bottom wall.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the additional game indicia includes an extension of the board game, and wherein the board game and the extension are aligned so as to create a single flat playing surface when the carrier is in the flat orientation.
 6. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: a punch out game dice that is integrally adjoined along one of the side walls.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the game indicia includes a board game, and each of the game tokens includes a beverage bottle cap having a unique character for playing the board game.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the carrier is constructed from a generally lightweight semi-flexible material, and is configured to fold between the upright orientation and the flat orientation.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of storage chambers are removable. 